I dream of serpents, of sea serpents,
About a certain sea, oh, of serpents I dream.
Long, transparent, and in their bellies they carry
Whatever they can snatch away from love.
Oh, I kill it, and a larger one appears.
Oh, with much more hell in its digestion.
I do not fit in its mouth; it tries to swallow me,
But it chokes on a clover of my temple.*
I think it is crazy; I give it a dove to chew on,
And I poison it with my kindness.
Oh, I kill it, and a larger one appears.
Oh, with much more hell in its digestion.
This one, finally, gobbles me down, and while I
Wander in its esophagus, I think about what will come.
But it destroys itself when I arrive in its stomach,
And I suggest a truth in verse to it.
Oh, I kill it, and a larger one appears.
Oh, with much more hell in its digestion.
Oh, I kill it, and a larger one appears.